February in Books
I started February with A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, a much-praised book which had been on my to-read list for too long.
This is an incredible book. A Little Life starts as the story of four college friends, trying to make their way in New York, but the story progresses and grows as its characters do. There are moments when the story is a little slow, even overwritten, but it always draws you back in. I loved the realism and attention to detail, and found myself constantly wanting to talk about the part of the book I was experiencing at the time. A Little Life slowly becomes the story of one of those four friends, and I absolutely loved, and was heartbroken by, the story of Jude. I'm so glad I finally read this one.
I discovered Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin in an article on What to read after watching It's A Sin, Russell T Davies' five-part drama about living through London's AIDS crisis.
This was the perfect book to read after the heavy (in more ways than one) A Little Life. Broken down into short chapters, Tales of the City is comprised of separate but delightfully overlapping storylines, set in 1976 San Francisco. It provided some much needed light relief, but also created characters and plots that I quickly became invested in. More Tales of the City is officially on my to-read list.
When I saw that The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken was available at the library, I jumped at the chance to read it next.
I found the first half a little dull, since it explained a lot of information I already knew about the basic workings of the criminal justice system in England and Wales, albeit with an appreciated sprinkling of real-life anecdotes. However, I really enjoyed the second half, starting with a chapter on legal aid (which I knew little about), two chapters on the pros and cons of our adversarial system (which I hadn't really considered before), an enlightening chapter on sentencing (often an obsession with the media), another on appeals, and a concluding chapter which suggests why society has so little interest in our legal system (compare our concern over the NHS) and what we can do about it.
You can check out my full review here.
Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden has been all over my timeline recently, so I was delighted when it suddenly appeared on my library's shelves.
I was really looking forward to reading Mrs Death Misses Death (what a title!), but I didn't end up enjoying it as much as I'd hoped I would. I liked the originality, and I loved that this book has something to say. I liked the characters. But I just never got sucked into the story, and unfortunately that made reading this one a little bit of a chore. I do still think this is a book worth taking a chance on though (especially as it's so short), and I'd especially recommend it for fans of Hinton Hollow Death Trip and Surge.
A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion, another one I've heard a lot about, appeared on my library's shelves at the same time.
A Crooked Tree opens with Libby's mother pulling the car over and ordering Libby's 12 year-old sister Ellen to walk home. This was all I needed to be told to know that I wanted to read this book. I was hooked from the start, and not just because of that brilliant opener. I loved the style of writing, and would definitely want to check out anything Una Mannion wrote in future.
You can read my full review here.
Next was another one which had been on my to-read list for too long: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
Although I found the first half a little disappointing, by halfway through, I was hooked. I ended up really enjoying this one. We Need to Talk About Kevin tackles a very challenging and controversial issue, and I think it manages to do justice to its concept. However, I don't think I will be reading any more books by Lionel Shriver. I found some of Eva's opinions and ideas a little too off-putting, and while I often enjoy unlikable characters, having also read Shriver's The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047, I think this bitter tone has a tendency to seep into her writing. I could do without it.
I had forgotten that I wanted to read Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe by Serhii Plokhy, until I saw its striking cover on the library shelves.
Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy is a clear and compelling account of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Serhii Plokhy gives just the right amount of historical context to make sense of the incident, without overloading you with unnecessary information. I was especially impressed by how clearly he explained what exactly went wrong at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Highly recommended for anyone else wanting to know more about such an infamous historical event.
I decided it was finally time to tackle my physical to-read shelf, so I made a start with Call the Dying by Andrew Taylor.
I was in the mood for some gentle crime fiction, and this turned out to be the perfect choice. I loved Andrew Taylor's style of writing, the small-town setting, and the focus on minor as well as major crimes. If you're interested in discovering a new series, I have no doubt that this one is worth your time, but Call the Dying also works perfectly well as a standalone novel.
Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan is one of those books which I was really excited to read, but it somehow took me ages to actually read.
Little Disasters is a compulsive page-turner, which keeps you guessing without resorting to a convoluted plot. But, more than that, Sarah Vaughan's exploration of motherhood raises Little Disasters above the average thriller. This book feels wonderfully true to life, and is definitely worth your time.
You can read my full review here.
Buoyed by my recent success, I continued to clear my backlog of unread books with Shadows by Paul Finch.
This turned out to be a brilliant police procedural; set in the northwest of England, centred on a strong and smart protagonist, well-written, and with several interesting storylines leading up to a nail-biting climax. I particularly liked that DC Lucy Clayburn had more than one case to solve in this book. Shadows is the second book in a series, but can also be read as a standalone.
My last book of February was Ten Days in Harlem: Fidel Castro and the Making of the 1960s by Simon Hall, which I was inspired to read after watching The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Ten Days in Harlem focuses on Fidel Castro's visit to New York in 1960, to make an address at the United Nations, in order to tell a much bigger story. Clear, compelling, and completely accessible, this book is the perfect starting point for learning more about the revolutionary 60s.
This is an incredible book. A Little Life starts as the story of four college friends, trying to make their way in New York, but the story progresses and grows as its characters do. There are moments when the story is a little slow, even overwritten, but it always draws you back in. I loved the realism and attention to detail, and found myself constantly wanting to talk about the part of the book I was experiencing at the time. A Little Life slowly becomes the story of one of those four friends, and I absolutely loved, and was heartbroken by, the story of Jude. I'm so glad I finally read this one.
I discovered Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin in an article on What to read after watching It's A Sin, Russell T Davies' five-part drama about living through London's AIDS crisis.
This was the perfect book to read after the heavy (in more ways than one) A Little Life. Broken down into short chapters, Tales of the City is comprised of separate but delightfully overlapping storylines, set in 1976 San Francisco. It provided some much needed light relief, but also created characters and plots that I quickly became invested in. More Tales of the City is officially on my to-read list.
When I saw that The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It's Broken was available at the library, I jumped at the chance to read it next.
I found the first half a little dull, since it explained a lot of information I already knew about the basic workings of the criminal justice system in England and Wales, albeit with an appreciated sprinkling of real-life anecdotes. However, I really enjoyed the second half, starting with a chapter on legal aid (which I knew little about), two chapters on the pros and cons of our adversarial system (which I hadn't really considered before), an enlightening chapter on sentencing (often an obsession with the media), another on appeals, and a concluding chapter which suggests why society has so little interest in our legal system (compare our concern over the NHS) and what we can do about it.
You can check out my full review here.
Mrs Death Misses Death by Salena Godden has been all over my timeline recently, so I was delighted when it suddenly appeared on my library's shelves.
I was really looking forward to reading Mrs Death Misses Death (what a title!), but I didn't end up enjoying it as much as I'd hoped I would. I liked the originality, and I loved that this book has something to say. I liked the characters. But I just never got sucked into the story, and unfortunately that made reading this one a little bit of a chore. I do still think this is a book worth taking a chance on though (especially as it's so short), and I'd especially recommend it for fans of Hinton Hollow Death Trip and Surge.
A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion, another one I've heard a lot about, appeared on my library's shelves at the same time.
A Crooked Tree opens with Libby's mother pulling the car over and ordering Libby's 12 year-old sister Ellen to walk home. This was all I needed to be told to know that I wanted to read this book. I was hooked from the start, and not just because of that brilliant opener. I loved the style of writing, and would definitely want to check out anything Una Mannion wrote in future.
You can read my full review here.
Next was another one which had been on my to-read list for too long: We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver.
Although I found the first half a little disappointing, by halfway through, I was hooked. I ended up really enjoying this one. We Need to Talk About Kevin tackles a very challenging and controversial issue, and I think it manages to do justice to its concept. However, I don't think I will be reading any more books by Lionel Shriver. I found some of Eva's opinions and ideas a little too off-putting, and while I often enjoy unlikable characters, having also read Shriver's The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047, I think this bitter tone has a tendency to seep into her writing. I could do without it.
I had forgotten that I wanted to read Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe by Serhii Plokhy, until I saw its striking cover on the library shelves.
Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy is a clear and compelling account of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Serhii Plokhy gives just the right amount of historical context to make sense of the incident, without overloading you with unnecessary information. I was especially impressed by how clearly he explained what exactly went wrong at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Highly recommended for anyone else wanting to know more about such an infamous historical event.
I decided it was finally time to tackle my physical to-read shelf, so I made a start with Call the Dying by Andrew Taylor.
I was in the mood for some gentle crime fiction, and this turned out to be the perfect choice. I loved Andrew Taylor's style of writing, the small-town setting, and the focus on minor as well as major crimes. If you're interested in discovering a new series, I have no doubt that this one is worth your time, but Call the Dying also works perfectly well as a standalone novel.
Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan is one of those books which I was really excited to read, but it somehow took me ages to actually read.
Little Disasters is a compulsive page-turner, which keeps you guessing without resorting to a convoluted plot. But, more than that, Sarah Vaughan's exploration of motherhood raises Little Disasters above the average thriller. This book feels wonderfully true to life, and is definitely worth your time.
You can read my full review here.
Buoyed by my recent success, I continued to clear my backlog of unread books with Shadows by Paul Finch.
This turned out to be a brilliant police procedural; set in the northwest of England, centred on a strong and smart protagonist, well-written, and with several interesting storylines leading up to a nail-biting climax. I particularly liked that DC Lucy Clayburn had more than one case to solve in this book. Shadows is the second book in a series, but can also be read as a standalone.
My last book of February was Ten Days in Harlem: Fidel Castro and the Making of the 1960s by Simon Hall, which I was inspired to read after watching The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Ten Days in Harlem focuses on Fidel Castro's visit to New York in 1960, to make an address at the United Nations, in order to tell a much bigger story. Clear, compelling, and completely accessible, this book is the perfect starting point for learning more about the revolutionary 60s.
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